The eighth meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC-8) to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) opened on Monday, 15 October in Geneva, Switzerland.

Jim Willis, Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, stressed that the Stockholm Convention's work is underpinned by science, meaning that "POPRC is the engine that makes the Convention work."

After adopting the agenda and agreeing on the organization of work, POPRC began deliberations on the draft risk profiles for chlorinated naphthalenes (CNs) and hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), both of which were sent to small drafting groups. After discussing the results of Japan’s study on whether pentachlorophenol (PCP) is a source of pentachloroanisole (PCA), the Committee decided to lift the brackets in the draft decision from POPRC-7 on PCP and its salts and esters and adopt it, determining that they meet the screening criteria specified in Annex D. The Committee created a contact group on hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) to discuss whether to recommend listing it in Annex A with or without exemptions, or to allow the Conference of Parties (COP) to determine the appropriate Convention annex. The Committee also discussed the draft guidance on how to assess the possible impacts of climate change on the work of POPRC. A contact group was formed to further refine the draft guidance.

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